four compass and five relative directions.
Taoist craft is also based on the four compass or cardinal directions and the five relative directions. The four compass directions are north, south, east, and west, corresponding with the Black Tortoise, Red Phoenix, Azure Dragon (sometimes translated to Green or Blue), and White Tiger, respectively. The four directions have also been referred to as the Four Imperial Palaces (四御殿, Sì Yù Diàn) or the Treasured Ones of the Four Corners (四方寶人, Sì Fāng Baŏ Rén). These are the four quarters that are called upon at the start of ritual work.
In craft, the four directions, or Four Guardians, also command four powers that a practitioner invokes, and by invoking the four powers during ritual, assumes those qualities. The Black Tortoise can endow the practitioner with the power of clairaudience; the Red Phoenix with the power to create and bring growth; the Azure Dragon with the power of control over events; and the White Tiger with the power of clairvoyance.
There are also the five relative directions (五方, Wŭ Fāng), which relate to and can be superimposed over the four cardinal directions. As an independent principle, the five relative directions are expressed as above, below, left, right, and center, and also as front, back, left, right, and center.
In the Zhou Dynasty, the five relative directions were expressed as five deities, referred to as the Five Emperors (五方上帝, Wŭ Fāng Shàng Dì) or the Five Lords (五 君, Wŭ Jūn). In most traditions of Fu craft, the Five Emperors for the five relative directions had to be invoked, right along with the Four Guardians for the four compass directions. The Five Emperors are typically called upon in unbinding spells, or to neutralize the spells of another witch or sorcerer. Such a practice is found across several Eastern esoteric traditions.
The five relative directions have also been personified as the Five Celestials of Wealth (五 路 財 神, Wŭ Lŭ Cái Shén), similar to the Five Emperors in mechanics, though the Five Celestials of Wealth are invoked for craft and cultivation that is specific to attaining prosperity. How the five relative directions are characterized varies from lineage to lineage, and even changes according to the nature of the Fu to be crafted, for example, invoking the Five Celestials of Wealth for prosperity sigils.
A practitioner’s ritual begins by calling upon the four compass and five relative directions. Doing so forms a multidimensional sphere around the practitioner and his or her sacred space while the ritual takes place. More traditional or orthodox traditions personify the four compass and five relative directions into deities, spirits, or lords. How you choose to express the concept must resonate with you and your ontology. Yet the serious practitioner will not omit integration of these concepts into the opening of a ritual.
— The Tao of Craft, Wen Benebell.
